Will was born February 8, 1971 in Fairbanks, Alaska, and his family moved to Stockbridge when he was a baby. He first met the Roland brothers at the local Baptist church, where he was part of Mr. Roland's choir. He and Shane played together in the marching band drum line for three years. "It's kind of funny how our growing up together has made it so we even think alike," says Will laughing. "There are times we'll all show up to dinner wearing the same shirt. We're individuals but we communicate on this weird unspoken level. Musically, it makes for the ideal situation. Our strength is our chemistry."
In high school, Ross, Shane, and Will were constantly in and out of bands with each other. "We'd play some of our own songs and covers from bands like REM and U2," says Will. "But we also spent a lot of time listening to Van Halen and Led Zeppelin and watching Rush videos."
After graduation, Will began pursuing percussion studies - primarily on marimba and timpani - at Georgia State University in Atlanta. Though not an official member of the group until early 1994, he'd often join the band on stage as a backing vocalist or add percussion tracks to songs Ed was working on at Reel To Reel. The day he joined Collective Soul, he went out and bought his first bass. "It made real good sense because Shane and I knew how to lock in rhythmically from our snare drum days in marching band. I watched him learn almost everything he knows."
Will is married to Donna Dillard, and they have a baby boy, Tristan Ross, born November 17th, 1997.